Handling Stress in a Pandemic

If you are struggling to even read this article…You’re not alone. It has been months since the first-ever case of Coronavirus and it has only gotten worse. Now with reopening of schools, jobs, and other daily normal activities, there is a lot of change going on. With trying to keep the balance of trying to go back to normal, this whole pandemic has caused people to also suffer from a great amount of stress, anxiety, fear, anger, and for many, grief. There are also people juggling an extraordinary amount and dealing with having the virus or having someone close to them with the virus. All in all, it’s a hard time for everyone. It’s understandable as to why your grades might be dropping, or you’re just less productive in your work or just having a change in mood and habits.

Let’s look at some of the things scholars have said that could benefit you during this time. In an article published in the New York Times, Todd Braver, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, says that’s “completely normal.” He claims that “[o]ur brains are hard-wired to be vigilant about this potential threat, so that’s using up the same resources we might need…for work or social interactions. You’re diverting some of your capacity to try to deal with the anxiety.” 

Thinking about what Braver has said about how our brains work through times like this…what can we do about it? Well, one very effective habit you can start is mindfulness and self-meditation. A quick 1-5 minute meditation can be highly effective on your whole day. Sometimes we get very caught up on the work and tend to lose ourselves within it; you must go back and calm yourself down and realize everything is okay. Deep breathing or quick positive affirmations to yourself can calm down your stress and anxiety that might be holding you back from your work. Some other little things you can change in your daily routines to help are to get more sleep, eat well, get outside and refreshed, and stay positive. The key thing is to keep yourself feeling alive… DO NOT let yourself fall out. Make sure you have the energy and motivation to start your day. Maybe in the morning you can have your favorite breakfast, or get ready, or do something that will get you hyped and energized for your day. “We’re often driven by the schedules that we find ourselves with,” says Gordon Logan, a psychology professor at Vanderbilt University who studies attention and performance. So start by creating an uplifting, motivational schedule.

Hopefully, these tips are found effective and can help someone who is really struggling during these times. The most important thing to remember is to keep working on yourself and your mental health. Give yourself some time for you and try to keep your life organized. When you do this, the workload doesn’t seem so insurmountable. Try to ignore the distractions around you. Keep working hard, you got this.